> At 12:55 PM 6/7/99 -0400, you wrote:
>
> >This would seem to imply that the meaning of the Greek verb derives
> fundamentally from Hebrew usage. I know we've had this out before, but the
> difference of viewpoint persists.
>
> I again would suggest that the writers of the NT were indeed influenced by
> Hebrew concepts. It is hard to imagine otherwise.
>

If I may attempt to read Carl's mind here regarding what he was attempting to convey,
the issue is not whether NT writers were influenced by Hebrew concepts, but whether
the Greek expression "to lift up the face" is ever found in non-Biblical Greek
literature, and if so, whether it there bears the meaning you claim it does. *If* it
does, then it would seem to have this meaning apart from, and not because of any
influence of, the Biblical expression biblical writers used the Greek to translate.

Or have I misunderstood everybody?

In any case, I suspect that the intention behind the original poster's question on
PROSKUNEW has to do with the meaning the verb has in the story of Jesus' wilderness
"testing". If so, the verb seems to mean (in Matthew at least) "to offer fealty to",
more than "worship" since in the light of Matt's use of EAN PESW before the verb, his
using PROSKUNEW with the sense of "worship" would cause a certain amount of
redundancy..